ST Thomas's Anthropology

Boileau 1
Robert Boileau
10/18/2007
Dr. John Sceski
PHL 401 – Philosophy of Man
An Overview of St. Thomas Aquinas’s Anthropology
Anthropology, the study of man, for St. Thomas Aquinas, deals primarily with
two major components; the body and the soul. To further examine what makes up a
human person for St. Thomas, however, several additional areas must be explored, such
as man as a creature, man’s attributes insofar as being a creature created by God, the
unity of the human person, and a number of other components essential to man as seen by
St. Thomas.
To determine the philosophical anthropology of man for St. Thomas, one must
first understand that St. Thomas distinguishes man as a creature, created by God, and
possessing both an intellect and a will1. As a creature, man is a composite being, made
up of both matter and substantial form, for only God is radically simple. These
composite beings are composed of matter (hyle) and form (morphe)2. What is unique in
distinguishing the human person from all other creatures is their rational soul. The
substantial form for a human person is their soul, which is thoroughly different from the
perishable soul of other creatures, for example, animals. The soul is the first immaterial
principle of life of an organized body3, and regarding a human soul in particular, it is
something that is subsistent. Another key aspect of distinctiveness in the human person
from animals is that they are created in imago Dei, that is, in the image of God. It is
important to clarify however that the creature is like God, and not vice versa.
One thing is like another when it has the same quality or form, but since what is in
God perfectly is present in other things by way of an imperfect participation, whatever
they are alike in belongs to God absolutely, but not so to the creature. And so the creature
possesses what belongs to God and is rightly said, therefore, to be like God. But we
cannot also say that God has what belongs to His creature, and so neither is it appropriate
Boileau 2
to say that God is like His creature; as we do not say that a man is like his portrait, even
though we state that his portrait is like him…4
St. Thomas explains how a human soul is subsistent, meaning it can exist on its
own, by way of the intellect5. The intellect can know all physical things; however, it can
not take on the form of the thing that it knows, otherwise it would know only that thing6.
Taking this into account, it is clear to see that the intellect must have an activity of its
own which is immaterial. This immaterial activity is called intellection7, which
transcends the activity of the body. In conclusion, this intellective power must exist
independently of the body, in order for the intellect to come to know the thing that is
known. This intellective power is the human soul, which is incorporeal and subsistent8.
The human person is a substantial, composite, natural, metaphysical being9. By
being substantial, the human person participates in an undivided act of existing
proportioned to a limiting essence10. The human person is also a unity composed of
various parts, thus differentiating them from God, who is a simple unity with no parts.
This unity of the human person is in the natural order of created things not dependant
upon the human agency11. Obviously, the human person is not man-made, therefore it
was not by the human agency that man was created, but by a being to which the human
person is radically dependant upon; this being is God. Finally, the human person is a
metaphysical being, meaning there is an analogous predication of oneness based upon a
non-division in the act of existing12. The human person exists as a unity of both body and
soul, completely distinct as principles but not as separate entities13. The body and soul of
a human person can not be torn apart in any way that would leave that person intact;
however both soul and body can be distinguished from one another.
Boileau 3
St. Thomas does not mean that the human soul is a distinct thing in its own right14.
By being subsistent, the soul does not subsist as something that is separate from what
makes up the unity of the human person. To be a human person, there must be a unity of
both body and soul. Therefore, when a person dies, St. Thomas believes that the soul will
survive the death of that person; however the soul of that person is no longer that person,
because it is now separate from the body15. In other words, the human person only is
what they are when there are a composition of both body and soul, and when one
becomes separate from the other, the person loses that composition which originally
united them. When the human person dies, the soul will continue to exist as a subsistent
entity, while the body will begin to perish. Perishing, for St. Thomas, is the loss of
form16, therefore when the body begins to perish, it must be concluded that it has lost its
form, which is the soul. By this methodology, the soul is not something that is capable of
perishing, for St. Thomas states that “it is impossible for a form to be separated from
itself; and therefore it is impossible for a subsistent form to cease to exist”17. Ultimately,
when the body is destroyed, the human person ceases to exist as a human person,
although the soul will continue to exist on its own.
St. Thomas argues that it is the whole person treated as a composite unity that
knows existence18. A judgment which involves an understanding of how the senses and
the intellect are unified in knowing a thing enables the person to assert that something
is19. The human person cannot use their senses to know that something is, because there
is no sense organ for asserting existence. Just as one is able to use their senses to see, or
smell, or hear, one can not use their senses to denote existence. It is only in unifying the
senses with the intellect to make an existential judgment that one can “identify the
strongest correspondence with the thing-in-act”20.

1
Brian Davies, The Thought of Thomas Aquinas (New York: Oxford Press, 1992), 208.
2
John Sceski, Class Handouts (Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, 2007), 6.
3
Sceski, 7.
4
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles I, 29, trans. Mary T. Clark, An Aquinas Reader (New York: Fordham
University Press, 2000), 128.
5
Sceski, 7.
6
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica Q:75 Art.2, trans. Anton C. Pegis, Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas
(Toronto: Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies, 1945), 284.
7
Sceski, 7.
8
Pegis, 284.
9
Sceski, 7.
10
Sceski, 7.
11
Sceski, 8.
12
Sceski, 8.
13
Sceski, 8.
14
Davies, 213.
15
Davies, 215.
16
Davies, 215.
17
Pegis, 288.
18
Sceski, 8.
19
Sceski, 8.
20
Sceski, 8.
Works Cited
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Contra Gentiles. Translated. Clark, Mary T. An Aquinas
Reader. New York: Fordham University Press, 2000.
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated. Pegis, Anton C. Introduction to St.

Thomas Aquinas. Toronto: Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies, 1945.
Davies, Brian. The Thought of Thomas Aquinas. New York: Oxford Press, 1992.
Sceski, John. Class handouts. Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary: 2007.

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Boileau 1

principle of life of an organized body3, and regarding a human soul in particular, it is

own which is immaterial. This immaterial activity is called intellection7, which

The human person is a substantial, composite, natural, metaphysical being9. By

being substantial, the human person participates in an undivided act of existing

proportioned to a limiting essence10. The human person is also a unity composed of

metaphysical being, meaning there is an analogous predication of oneness based upon a

although the soul will continue to exist on its own.

strongest correspondence with the thing-in-act”20.

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated. Pegis, Anton C. Introduction to St.

Sceski, John. Class handouts. Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary: 2007.

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